Gylfi Einarsson (born 27 October 1978, in Reykjavík) is a retired Icelandic football player. He played as a midfielder.

Gylfi Einarsson
Personal information
Date of birth (1978-10-27) 27 October 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Reykjavík, Iceland
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11+12 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Fylkir
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2000 Fylkir 54 (18)
2000–2004 Lillestrøm 83 (16)
2004–2007 Leeds United 21 (1)
2008–2010 Brann 43 (4)
2011 Fylkir 14 (1)
International career
2000–2005 Iceland 24 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 January 2012
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 January 2012

Club career

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He started his career at Fylkir but moved to Norwegian club Lillestrøm SK in 2000. In the 2004 season he scored 13 goals in 26 matches. When his contract expired, he was snapped up by Leeds United,[1] who had to wait until January 2005 to sign him. Gylfi, who was originally seen as a player in the Gary Speed mould, had never been more than a bit-player at Elland Road. This was mainly due to the injury problems that he sustained during his time at the club. On 6 September 2006, Gylfi had a hip operation to remove floating bone and was out of contention for the squad for eight weeks.[2] In January 2007, Gylfi was subject to interest from Norwegian team, Strømsgodset.[3] Gylfi left Leeds United on the final day of the summer transfer window in the 2007/08 campaign, with his contract being terminated.[4] He scored one league goal during his stay at Leeds, in a 1–0 win at Burnley.[5]

Gylfi signed with the reigning Norwegian champions, SK Brann, on 25 January 2008, after a short try-out.[6]

International career

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Gylfi made his debut for Iceland in a July 2000 friendly match against Malta as a sub for Helgi Kolviðsson. He has earned 24 caps so far and scored his only goal in a friendly against Italy when Iceland won a famous 2–0 victory in front of a record crowd of 20.204 at Laugardalsvöllur.

References

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  1. ^ "Leeds confirm Icelander deal". Sky Sports. 16 November 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2007.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Gylfi Set For Op". LeedsUnited.com. 6 September 2006. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2006.
  3. ^ "Norwegians eye Gylfi". Sky Sports. 25 January 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2007.[permanent dead link].
  4. ^ "Leeds complete trio of signings". BBC Sport. 1 September 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2007.
  5. ^ "Burnley 0–1 Leeds". BBC. 5 February 2005. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  6. ^ "Gylfi Einarsson klar for Brann" (in Norwegian). brann.no. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2008.[permanent dead link]
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